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Sunday, October 27, 2013

Kate Middleton, Prince William & Prince George: Touching New Photo Released
It looks as if Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, are like any other proud parents who like sharing photos of their baby, young Prince George.
The royal couple released another sweet portrait of themselves with the three-month-old royal baby on Saturday, and it's worth a thousand words.

Sure, this is the future King of England, but any parents can relate to such a moment and the bond this new family shares ... and they're just so cute:
The intimate royal family moment was captured in the Morning Room at Clarence House following Prince George's christening on Wednesday morning.
The 35-minute ceremony was attended by family members of Prince William and Kate Middleton, plus George's seven godparents and their spouses.

Chris Brown Arrested for Felony Assault in D.C.
chris Brown has been arrested for felony assault.
Insiders confirm to TMZ that an incident took place this morning around 4:30 in Washington D.C., as Brown allegedly got into an argument with a man outside the W Hotel and started punching him repeatedly.
It is not believed that the singer was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.As of this writing, Brown is in custody and the victim is being treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Blake Shelton on Miranda Lambert Cheating Rumors: Gotta Be True (Not)! -
Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are again rumored to be on the rocks … or having a baby, or getting a very expensive divorce, depending on what you read.
He finds it all very amusing in any case.According to various tabloids, Blake has been cheating on his wife, possibly with Lindsay Sporrer, with whom he attended Usher's birthday party.
But, in typical fashion, the country singer and The Voice coach chose to address the ongoing chatter by embracing and/or making a mockery of it.
"I just read back to back NEW stories that @mirandalambert and I are having a baby, divorcing, cheating and feuding with @cher. Must be true!" Blake Tweeted.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Forget gold, go after black money: Narendra Modi
CHENNAI: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Friday took at dig at the UPA government for ordering the excavation around a medieval fort site in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, for rumoured 1,000 tonnes of gold.
"The whole world is making fun of us. Someone dreamt of it and the Central government has gone hunting for 1,000 tonnes of gold. The black money of all the corrupt people is stored in Swiss banks, worth more than 1,000 tonnes of gold. They should first get that back," Modi told party cadres at Chennai airport on his arrival.
The Gujarat CM said if the Centre was capable of getting back black money stored in foreign banks, it would not have heaped humiliation on the country in the form of a gold hunt. He said a "cyclone of change" had gripped the nation. Alluding to cyclone Phailin which hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Modi said it did not make much impact as the "cyclone for change" was already underway in the country. "People are dreaming of a Congress-free India, and Tamil Nadu, where BJP has little presence, was also part of this wave," he said.
Speaking alternately in English and Hindi, Modi spelt out his foreign policy while delivering the Nani Palkhivala Memorial lecture at Madras University. "The corner stone of this policy would be to weave a harmonious neighbourhood, he said speaking on the theme of "India and the World," he said.
"Our scriptures show the way we must relate with the rest of the world through its concept of 'Vasudaiva Kutumbakam', which means the world is one family. Peace and harmony come to us from our culture and leading lights like Mahatma Gandhi who stressed the moral dimension in the conduct of persons and nations," he said.
Foreign policy has to be driven by people, not weak politicians sitting in Delhi," Modi said, adding, "India can be the alchemist of the world, giving a healing touch to bring nations together." Buddhism was a common thread to strengthen India's bonds with various countries. "Many look at India as the big brother. So India has a special responsibility to play in south Asia," he said. At the same time, it should have the political will to take decisions like the nuclear tests conducted by the NDA government in 1998.
"The world has accepted that the present century is going to be Asia's century. Our responsibility is to ensure it is India's century too by combining our traditional strengths with modern initiatives," he said.
Alluding to the fall of the rupee and the economic downslide, he wondered "how Tamil people have sent such a person ( Chidambaram) to Delhi".
"We have to encourage states to partner with foreign countries based on development agenda like Gujarat is collaborating with Japan and Canada. Likewise, at a cultural and linguistic level, there can be partnerships between Goa and Portugal and Pondicherry and France," he said.
Modi released Arun Shourie's book on 'Self-Deception: India's China Policies' on the occasion and presented a copy to political satirist Cho Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy said Modi was the new hope of the nation and "could be changing his residence to 7 Race Course Road in Delhi".

Saturday, July 27, 2013

New Spots For The Wolverine (2013): Hunter & Legend
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Posted by: Matt McGloin, Editor/Publisher
July 24, 2013 12:31 | Updated: 1 day 13 hours Ago
Fox has released a pair of TV spots for The Wolverine with "Hunter" and "Legend."
The movie debuts on Friday.
The Wolverine has a July 26th, 2013 release date, also starring Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, and Hiroyuki Sanada.
Synopsis:
Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine, the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before.

Second Opinion - The Wolverine (2013)
The Wolverine, 2013.
Directed by James Mangold.
Starring Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Rila Rukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, Brian Tee, Hal Yamanouchi, and Famke Janssen.
SYNOPSIS:
Summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, Wolverine becomes embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.
The Wolverine 2013
Warning - minor spoilers to follow...
There is a moment in The Wolverine which splits the film into two sections. Before this moment, the film functions as a slightly above average summer spectacle, but after it the film rapidly falls apart, exposing all of the frailties which had so far been concealed. Aside from undoing all the decent work which had come before, this moment only serves to magnify what is sorely lacking in big budget films today; stakes and consequences.
We’ll discuss ‘that moment’ after appreciating the many positive aspects of this $120 million comic book movie. There are themes running through the first half of the film which carry some weight in moving the story forward and picking up the pieces of the last two disastrous outings for Hugh Jackman as the titular character (X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine) without needing to tell another origin story. The film begins with Wolverine facing inner turmoil over his role in the death of his true love Jean Grey, turning him into an outcast wandering the Canadian wilderness, unrecognisable from the hero we’ve seen in the previous films. In a flashback we see him at Nagasaki as a POW in a military base just before the atomic bomb is dropped; he saves Yashida, a Japanese soldier and the audience is treated to the film’s best visual effect as Wolverine is horrifically burned only to quickly, if painfully, regenerate again. It’s a shocking image for a 12A rated film but, we hope at this point, sets the tone for the film. It’s telling us this isn’t like any X-Men film we’ve seen before.
The story moves to Tokyo as Wolverine is tracked down by a girl working for the now-elderly Yashida who wishes to thank him for saving his life decades before. The film touches on themes of Wolverine’s immortality and the curse this has brought upon his life and the fact he must go on living without Jean Grey, and the offer of death from Yashida, a man who is searching for immortality. It is here that the other mutant in the film, Viper, is introduced and will turn out to be one of the film major weaknesses but in this first half she serves a purpose (albeit clumsily) to weaken Wolverine’s regenerating powers and this gives the forthcoming action sequences their stakes and consequence. Wolverine is vulnerable, no longer can he instantly heal and pain is something he now feels physically as well as emotionally; the film has a lead character the audience can invest in because the stakes are raised.
This is where director James Mangold comes in to his own. Anyone who is familiar with his work knows he can handle action (Knight and Day, 3:10 To Yuma), character (Walk the Line) and drama (Copland, his urban western masterpiece) with ease and is deserving of a film with this worldwide appeal even though he is very much a ‘director for hire’ in this instance. Not interested in drawing attention away from character and action, Mangold distances himself from the camera and allows the action scenes, in this first half, to grow organically and have a real sense of danger and excitement; there is nothing flashy or gratuitous about his action and this seems to be an ever-decreasing skill within directors of this kind of film.
The standout sequence in the entire film (and by some margin) takes place on top of a moving ‘bullet train’ going 300 miles an hour. In the trailers the scene looked woeful but in context it is masterfully executed; no soundtrack is used, heightening the noise of the train and effects as Wolverine fights off assassins whilst avoiding overhead bridges and other obstacles. The scene is perfect in length, the stakes are clear, and it doesn’t feel the need to flatten a city in the process. Moreover, no one else is aware this action is happening which is so rare in action films today which go out of their way to ensure everyone in the vicinity are potential collateral.
Wolverine is hurting, tired, conflicted, and has his inner enemies. The film has patiently built up to a fantastic action set piece and, rightly so, slows down to build on character and themes once again. However, this is exactly where The Wolverine begins to show cracks for the next 30 minutes serve such little purpose in contrast to the film disastrous final act that all the quiet moments are for nothing. ‘That moment’ referred to at the start of this review is when Wolverine gets his powers back and once again becomes indestructible; the moment that happens, the film reverts back to type and follows the path of least resistance and forgets all the interesting themes in favour for Wolverine fighting a giant CGI Silver Samurai with a massive sword and showing Viper shedding skin for reasons never explained and wholly unwarranted. The stakes are removed, the consequences of the action are voided, and nothing matters anymore.
As soon as Wolverine gets back to full strength the film loses all credibility and any integrity it once had. This film does not, at any single juncture in its story, need a 10 foot CGI creation and at no point is it even hinted at; the fact that the writers or studio felt the need to include this only serves to show the complete lack in having the courage of its own convictions to be something different and stand apart from the rest and this is the problem with the large majority of blockbusters today, not just this film. They treat the audience like imbeciles who cannot go two hours without seeing some kind of needless and unjustified CGI spectacle, even one as relatively low-key as this. It’s like listening to your favourite radio station only for someone to abruptly switch to some mindless noise. “Hey, I was enjoying that” you might say in protest, but they don’t listen and just turn up the volume to drown you out.
There is an extra scene during the credits which teases the next X-Men film but it just reminds us of the disposable nature of these films; the credits can no longer even finish before we’re asked to forget what we’ve just watched and get ready for something new. Whatever happened to making a successful film to stand on its own and savour the experience if it was one you enjoyed? Why this need to make films as glorified adverts for something else? Why couldn’t The Wolverine just have been a decent, low-key comic book outing and not a film made by committee?
So many questions. The answer is in your wallet.
Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★

Saturday, June 29, 2013

NEW DELHI: The railways on Friday launched SMS-based ticketing with two dedicated numbers — 139 and 5676714 — for the service.
Booking of tickets through non-internet based mobile phones, launched as a pilot project by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), will also help railways overcome the menace of touts who fleece unsuspecting passengers.
IRCTC aims to make railway ticket booking even easier through SMS or menu-based USSD technology which works on all mobile phones. Through this service, customers can not only book tickets but also search for stations, trains, availability, PNR enquiry, make cancellation etc.
"In order to give improved customer service and empower the common man who does not have access to internet and cannot afford to buy smart phones, we are launching SMS ticket booking service," railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge said.
He said the service will be particularly useful to workers staying away from their homes as they will find the service convenient as well as cost-effective and they will not have to travel to booking counters and forgo a day's earnings.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Google working on videogame console, smartwatch: Report
Google is working on a videogame console and smart watch powered by Android software.
SAN FRANCISCO: Google is developing a videogame console and a smartwatch based on its Android operating system, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The devices could be available as soon as this Fall, the report, which cited anonymous sources, said.
Google, the world's No.1 Web search engine, is also working on a revamped version of the Nexus Q music-streaming device, the report said. Google unveiled the Nexus Q in June 2012, but never released the product, which received critical reviews.
Google is increasingly involved in the hardware business as it seeks to better compete against iPhone-maker Apple. It acquired mobile phone company Motorola Mobility last year and Google is currently testing a wearable computing device known as Google Glass.
Google's Android operating system is the world's most popular mobile software, featured on three out of every four smartphones sold. A video game console could provide a significant opportunity for Google to expand Android's reach beyond its stronghold in smartphones and tablets.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

AMB (Average Monthly Balance)

Do you understand what is the meaning of Minimum Quarterly Average
Balance in your saving account? When you say “Quarterly Average Balance
of your saving bank account is Rs 10,000″ , what does it mean exactly? A
lot of people feel that their balance in saving bank account should not
go below Rs 10,000 on any given day, otherwise there will be penalty
charges and they make sure that they have a buffer of Rs 10,000 in their
saving bank account all the time. This means that their account always
have that much surplus. However the way quarterly average balance is
calculated is different and very simple.

Meaning of Quarterly Average Balance ?

It simply means the average of the all the closing day balance in a
given quarter. So given a quarter, add up all the closing day balance
and then divide it by the number of days in the quarter. If you have to
put it as formula it would beQAB = (Total of all the EOD closing balance)/(number of days in quarter)
Let me show you an example . Let us say the quarter we are talking
about is Apr-June . Now your balance in the start of the quarter (Apr 1)
is Rs 20,000 . You withdraw 15,000 on 15th Apr and then Deposit 8,000
on 12th June. What will be the quarterly average balance for the Apr –
June Quarter ?

Keeping Rs 30,000 in a bank account for 1 full month , is same as
keeping 10,000 for full 3 months (30k * 30 days = 10k * 90 days)

If you want to keep ZERO balance in your account for most of the
time, then the best thing would be to put a big amount like 90,000 for
first 10 days of a quarter Q1 and then do a FD for 5 months , and then
once it matures, you will be in Q2 end , and then you can put it for
another 10 days , this way you will meet quarterly balance for both Q1
and Q2 .

PSU Banks vs Private Banks

A lot of PSU banks like SBI bank, Bank of India , Allahabad bank generally have a lower Quarterly Average Balance to
be maintained in saving bank account, it average limit is upto Rs 500
in most of the banks and non-Maintenance Charges are very low around Rs
50-100 only. However Private banks like ICICI Banks, HDFC bank, Axis
Bank etc have quarterly balance as high as Rs 10,000 and high charges as
penalty for not maintaining it , It some times can be as high as Rs 750
. Note that ICICI Bank has recently moved to Monthly Average Balance
(which I came to learn when I was writing this article and thanks to
everyone that I knew it as I have my account in ICICI bank only)
Did you knew how the minimum average balance is calculated ? Now will
this information impact your banking in any way ? Will you keep less
money in your bank account because you now understand that quarterly
average balance is calculated in a different way than you thought?

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

1. India's second-largest IT company Infosys seems to facing tough times.
Going by the recent guidance announced by Infosys and Cognizant, the
latter is all set to go past Infosys to become the second largest
offshore IT services provider.

Infosys Technologies has also
warned of challenging times ahead. Here are 8 little-known facts about
the company based on its recent annual report filed with the US market
regulator SEC.

2. Big jump in directors' remuneration: The total cash compensation paid to Infosys directors during the year
ended March 2012 witnessed a sharp jump over the previous fiscal year.
While the total compensation paid to the company's directors stood at Rs
13.5 crore in 2010-11, it jumped to Rs 25.28 crore in 2011-12.

KV Kamath's compensation rose to $2,05,000 from $1,25,600, a 63%
increase in the total package over the 2011 fiscal. Kamath took charge
as the chairman of the board in August 2011, but has served as an
independent director since May 2009.

3.CEO's compensation cut : While the renumeration paid to the company's directors went up, Krish
Gopalakrishnan, executive co-chairman of the board and SD Shibulal, CEO
and MD of the company received 20 percent less cash compensation during
the fiscal year 2011-12 as against 2010-11.

Shibulal's package
was reduced by about $80,000 to $1,62,990 in 2011-12, while
Gopalakrishnan's remuneration fell by about $85,000 to $1,64,543 during
the same period.

4.An American is highest-paid employee: Infosys' highest-paid employee during the year ending March 2012 was a
non-Indian employee. An American, Stephen R Pratt is the company's
global head of consulting and system integration. Pratt recieved a gross
package of close to $2 million, the highest amount paid by the company
to any top-level executive during that period.

Pratt's division
accounts for more than 30 per cent of Infosys's overall revenues. The
Nasdaq-listed company said in its annual report filed with the US market
regulator SEC.

5.Jump in total assets:According to Infosys annual report, the value of the company's total assets stood at Rs 38,348 crore in FY 2011-12.

The net cash generated from operations by the company stood during the
same period is Rs 5,955 crore. The same stood at Rs 4,270 crore in
2010-11.

6.Cash reserves:Infosys ended the year 2011-12 with Rs 20,968 crore as cash and cash
equivalent. As of March 2012, Infosys has Rs 989 crore in current
accounts spread across Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America. The
company's bank deposits went up to Rs 17,951 crore as against Rs 14,226
crore in the year before.

Infosys has Rs 1,733 crore in Bank of
Baroda. It has Rs 1,500 crore each in Canara Bank, ICICI Bank and Bank
of India. The company also has Rs 1,504 crore in bank deposits in ICICI
bank.

7.LIC owns nearly 5% of Infosys:

The
single largest shareholder of Infosys is LIC. It has 2.82 crore shares
or 4.92 per cent stake in the company. Infosys in total has 4,60,139
shareholders.

8.Founders own 16%:Infosy Indian founders'approximately control 16.01 per cent of voting
rights shares of the company according to the report. 39.01 per cent is
owned by Foreign institutional investors. Indian banks, financial
institutions and insurance companies have 11.88 per cent stake in the
company.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

SONIPAT/NEW DELHI: IIT-Delhi
will soon set up its extension campus in Sonipat, just a few kilometres
from the capital's border. Responding to a letter from the IIT-D
director, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced that his government will provide 50 acres to the institute in Rajiv Gandhi Education City in Sonipat.

The 2,000-acre Education City, which was launched on Sunday, is the
first-of-its-kind in the country, housing dozens of campuses of higher
education institutes.

IIT-D director R K Shevgaonkar's letter was handed over to Hooda by his son and Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda,
the lone parliamentarian on the IIT advisory council. Shevgaonkar has
said the extension campus would not only facilitate the institute's much
needed expansion but also provide an additional impetus to the economic
and technical growth of the state.

"The land at Sonipat
will be used for activities like faculty development, incubation and
setting up science and technology park, which would contribute in the
growth of Haryana. We have also asked for land in Jhajjar, which would
be used to set up a campus for research activities," he said.

IIT-D, which has the second highest number of students but the smallest
campus, has been searching for land in NCR as it doesn't have enough
space in Delhi.

Earlier in the day, Hooda laid foundation
stones of 10 educational institutions that would come up in over 168
acres in the coming Education City. The Haryana government estimates
that once fully functional, Education City would have over 1 lakh
students. "You can imagine the impact it would have on Sonipat's
development and the state and Sonipat would compete with Gurgaon," the
chief minister said.

Education City is being developed on the pattern of Oxford University,
the government claimed. Besides regular courses like management,
information technology and computer sciences, it would also house
institutes offering courses in bio-medical engineering, bio-technology,
nano-technology, defence research and film and media studies.

The state government has reserved 25% of all seats for students from
Haryana. Outstanding students from the state will also get a special
rebate in fees.

Jodhpur:
The Jodhpur Development Authority is all set to launch a new housing
scheme for Jodhpur city. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is going to launch
the Vivek Vivek Housing Scheme as soon as he reaches city.
The
(JDA) has made all arrangements to launch the scheme as soon as
possible. The authority has even passed orders to print the housing
scheme brochures.
The authority is expecting huge profits from
this housing scheme which would be launched soon. JDA is expected to
earn more than one arab from this scheme.
According to official sources, the allotment of 3000 flats would be done through lottery.
The Vivek Vihar Housing Scheme is one of the biggest housing scheme launched in Jodhpur city.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Supertech says investors money safe

On Wednesday, the apex court upheld the Allahabad High Court judgment quashing the acquisition of over 156 hectares of land in Greater Noida where a township is being developed.

Supertech is among the builders affected by the Supreme Court's ruling on land acquisition in Noida Extension. On Wednesday, the apex court upheld the Allahabad High Court judgment quashing the acquisition of over 156 hectares of land in Greater Noida where a township is being developed.

According to officials, the land was initially allotted to builders such as the Amrapali Group, Unitech, Supertech and Mahagun. Despite assurances from these developers, many investors are opting out of the projects. In the process, however, the investors would get poorer by 10 per cent of the booking amount, which ranges from Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh.

Supertech's corporate communications GM Dhananjay Srivastava said: "The investors' money is safe. Only about five acres of our project land falls in the said area and we have sold no flats there." The developer's Eco Village II falls in the Shahberi village area. "We hereby appeal to our esteemed customers not to panic," he added.

Ravi Kant Pandey, who booked a flat in Mahagun Mywoods in November 2010, said: "It's complete panic for us, though they claim their project is safe. I just want my money back. But they say that if I cancel my booking, 10 per cent of the booking amount - Rs 2 lakh in my case - will be deducted."

An investor from Chennai, who has booked a house with Supertech, said: "The developers will get their money back from the Noida Authority but what about our money? They will return our money only after they get it from the authority."

Sheetal Kishore, who has invested in Supertech, said: "They are asking for another Rs 5 lakh to accommodate me in another project. Where do I get the extra lakhs from? I just want my money back."

Mahagun's director Dhiraj Jain said the court decision has not affected their Mahagun Mywoods project. "The order applies to only small portion of the land, which has been set aside for future development. We haven't planned anything there yet," he said.

Most developers aver that they would either get alternative land or adjust payment with the Noida Authority. However, the realty industry feels the development would affect the general sentiment in the market. According to National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), "The developers are being penalised for no fault of theirs. The Greater Noida Authority should either provide alternative land or refund the land cost."

And although that number is likely to dip a bit once all of the reviews come flooding in next week when it hits theaters — we'll be streaming live from the New York red-carpet premiereon Monday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET on MTV.com — the overwhelming consensus is that "Deathly Hallows, Part 2" delivers on every level. Additionally, it seems that splitting the "Deathly Hallows" into two parts was a good call. While reviews for "Deathly Hallows, Part 1" tended to find that the movie felt too much like a prelude to the climax of the upcoming "Part 2," the early reviews for the final film make it clear that the last installment doesn't skimp on the action, emotional core or storytelling that has driven the franchise.

The real question is whether "Part 2" is a satisfying conclusion to the "Potter" series, and the consensus seems to be that it definitely is. But don't take our word for it: Read on and check out what the critics are saying.

The Story"The film versions of J.K. Rowling's stories have enthralled me, and I watched them with child-like wonder. The final film chapter had me literally sitting on the edge of my seat at times, particularly in the scene where Harry, Ron and Hermione (who for reasons too complicated to go into here has to look like Bellatrix Lestrange) break into a bank and escape over the London skyline on the back of a fire-breathing dragon." — Baz Bamigboye,Daily Mail

The Performances"The actors here have to make the most of their fleeting moments, and they consistently do. What the post-'Potter' careers of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint will be like is anyone's guess, but at this point they know how to take these particular characters to the bridge without breaking a sweat. Alan Rickman gets to show us many sides of Snape, and he's as compelling as always, even when the flashbacks use some freaky age-erasing special effects that leave his face looking odd. [Helena] Bonham Carter's Bellatrix Lestrange is as goth-gorgon as ever, but she has some fun with some early scenes in which she gets to portray the Hermione-on-polyjuice-potion version of the character. And during the film's big climactic battle, [Maggie] Smith and Julie Walters get some tasty moments that make their relatively small roles over the course of the series worthwhile." — Alonso Duralde,The Wrap

The Split"Fully justifying the decision, once thought purely mercenary, of splitting J.K. Rowling's final book into two parts, this is an exciting and, to put it mildly, massively eventful finale that will grip and greatly please anyone who has been at all a fan of the series up to now. If ever there was a sure thing commercially, this stout farewell is it." — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

The Action"Perhaps the greatest triumph of this final film is its ability to overcome the deficiencies of J.K. Rowling's writing. In the last Harry Potter volume, she failed singularly to muster the epic feel needed; as a result, on the page, the concluding battle at Hogwarts was a damp squib. But [director David] Yates here transmutes it into a genuinely terrifying spectacle, as bloodied students fight desperately against a horde of screaming black-robed Death Eaters." — Philip Womack, The Telegraph

The End"And if you think you know how it all ends, you don't. Yates has wisely tickled the face-off between the rivals to make it even better than the version Rowling wrote in her book. Unlike many other franchises, the quality of the Harry Potter films never dropped. The producers could have broken box-office records with a basic cardboard set thanks to the dedicated fanbase. Yet they have blown a fortune to make a special experience for them." — Grant Rollings, The Sun

Thursday, June 16, 2011

One viewer even pretends to faint at the sight of shirtless Taylor Lautner.

Christmas came early for the "Twilight" fans of the world, in the form of the trailer for "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" during Sunday's MTV Movie Awards. Two days later, and the most die-hard fans still can't get enough of watching and re-watching the nearly two-minute extravaganza. Because we anticipated a few over-the-top enthusiastic responses, MTV News asked fans to upload their "Breaking Dawn" trailer reactions to Your.MTV.com, and the top three aired on MTV's "The Seven," on Monday. But since we received so many wonderful reaction videos, we felt that we needed to highlight a few more.

This latest group features similar themes of breathlessness, wide-eyed enthusiasm and, of course, squeals of delight. One video features five young girls perched on a couch in a room surrounded by "Team Edward" paraphernalia, all of them remaining mostly composed, until one little lady pretends to faint after seeing shirtless Taylor Lautner. SEE PHOTOS OF ALL OF THE "TWILIGHT" STARS AT THE MOVIE AWARDS.The reactions from Emily and Lizzy in Haysville, Kansas, go from smiley to stunned to squealy. Also notable is the fact that a young guy is hanging out in the background, probably a brother or friend, who tries to sit through the ladies' screams but bails halfway through. Finally, uploader ayLa94kLd submitted footage of herself and her sister's reactions. The lively duo were the first reactors we've seen to offer a bit of running commentary throughout. At one point, the older sis playfully smacks her younger sister to keep her from fully freaking out. In addition to those video reactions, we have a few more thoughts, written by our readers in the comments section under the first trailer-reaction story we posted. "THAT TRAILER WAS AWESOME!!!" exclaimed Tucheer83. "I loved their reactions. Mine was worse. I was literally running around the house. I couldn't believe [director Bill] Condon actually gave us the headboard breaking. I so love that man. No wonder Jennifer Hudson got an Oscar [for Condon's 'Dreamgirls']. This guy is good!!! 'New Moon' used to be my favorite trailer, but Condon beat it hands down — but not by much." "I loved the trailer," Shari44 wrote. "My biggest squeals came when I got a glimpse of Bella looking into Edward's eyes in her wedding veil. Just beautiful. Second squeal and a little giggle was when he was gripping the headboard during a passionate moment," she added. "When Edward and Bella were snuggling together, then when we could see her belly with the first signs of pregnancy. Awesome trailer. Loved it all. Any Edward moment makes me sigh at the very least."